DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

DELHI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

Minutes of Meeting

Subject: B.A. (Hons.) Economics Sixth Semester

Course: 14 – Development Economics II
Date of Meeting: 15th January, 2020
Venue: Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics
University of Delhi, Delhi – 110 007
Chair: Prof. Sunil Kanwar

Attested by:

S.NO. Name College

1. Basanti Nayak Satyawati College (M)
2. Tanjot Singh Gargi College
3. A. Sunil Dharan Moti Lal Nehru College
4. Puja Pal Janki Devi Memorial College
5. Rekha Sharma Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce
6. Puja Saxena Nigam Hindu College
7. Deepali Sharma S.G.T.B. Khalsa College

The members present decided to retain the same set of readings as last year, and these
are spelt out below. Further, it was re-iterated that, as before, unit 3 of this course
would remain de-emphasized.

Course Description
This is the second module of the economic development sequence. It begins with basic
demographic concepts and their evolution during the process of development. The structure
of markets and contracts is linked to the particular problems of enforcement experienced in
poor countries. The governance of communities and organizations is studied and this is then
linked to questions of sustainable growth. The course ends with reflections on the role of
globalization and increased international dependence on the process of development.

Course Outline

1. Demography and Development

Demographic concepts; birth and death rates, age structure, fertility and mortality;
demographic transitions during the process of development; gender bias in preferences
and outcomes and evidence on unequal treatment within households; connections
between income, mortality, fertility choices and human capital accumulation; migration.

2. Land, Labor and Credit Markets

The distribution of land ownership; land reform and its effects on productivity;
contractual relationships between tenants and landlords; land acquisition; nutrition and labor
productivity; informational problems and credit contracts; microfinance; inter- linkages
between rural factor markets.
3. Individuals, Communities and Collective Outcomes
Individual behavior in social environments, multiple social equilibria; governance in
organizations and in communities; individual responses to organizational inefficiency.

4. Environment and Sustainable Development

Defining sustainability for renewable resources; a brief history of environmental change;
common-pool resources; environmental externalities and state regulation of the environment;
economic activity and climate change.

5. Globalization
Globalization in historical perspective; the economics and politics of multilateral
agreements; trade, production patterns and world inequality; financial instability in a
globalized world.

Readings
1. Debraj Ray, Development Economics, Oxford University Press, 2009.
2. Partha Dasgupta, Economics, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press,
2007.
3. Abhijit Banerjee, Roland Benabou and Dilip Mookerjee, Understanding Poverty,
Oxford University Press, 2006
4. Raghuram Rajan, Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World
Economy, 2010
5. Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective
Action, Cambridge University Press, 1990
6. Dani Rodrik, The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States and Democracy
Can’t Coexist, Oxford University Press, 2011
7. Michael D. Bordo, Alan M. Taylor and Jeffrey G. Williamson (ed.), Globalization in
Historical Perspective, University of Chicago Press, 2003